If you own a newly constructed residence in Erie, it was probably constructed with energy efficiency as a priority. This means increased insulation and windows and doors with enhanced seals. While these improvements are excellent for keeping your utility costs in check, they’re not so fantastic for your indoor air quality.
Your home comfort system needs to operate with a filter. But if you’re using a flat filter, you won’t be receiving adequate filtration. This type only delivers the lowest level of protection by stopping dust from getting into your home comfort system.
While you can get a pleated filter or one with a better MERV rating, it still might not be enough filtration, especially if someone in your residence has allergies or other respiratory issues.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier comes in. These systems are placed within ductwork to provide effective filtration across your house. Depending on the kind you select, you’ll be able to get rid of allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.
Here are our favorite solutions from Lennox®, an industry leader in air purification.
Best Air Purifiers from Lennox
1. HEPA Air Purifiers
A HEPA air purifier, like the Healthy Climate® High-Efficiency Particulate Air Filtration System, gives premium filtration. These filters were first created to defend scientists as they worked on the atomic bomb. Today, they’re necessary in hospitals and other medical operations.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System features a three-step filtration process. A prefilter catches bigger irritants before the HEPA filter catches the rest of miniscule particles. Then, a charcoal filter wipes out odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System connects to all HVAC brands and smoothly connects with with your smart home. It fights the three leading kinds of indoor air contaminants:
- Airborne particles
- Chemical odors and vapors
- Germs and bacteria, under certain airflow conditions
This air purifier can eliminate 99.9%* of pollutants, like mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also capable of removing or eliminating 90%1 of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, according to laboratory and field studies, it removes and eliminates approximately 50% of your home’s odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S comes with sensing features that make it uncomplicated to maintain. When linked with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll get a notification to replace the filter and UVA light.2 This home air purifier must be used with communicating Lennox systems and the iComfort S30.
2. Media Air Cleaners
Lennox Healthy Climate® Media Air Cleaners are available in a variety of MERV ratings to fit your needs. This rating measures how good filters are at removing contaminants. The better the number, the finer the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is great for residences with allergy suffers and pets. This is a HEPA filter air purifier, because it has a MERV 16 rating for hospital-strength filtration. And it gets rid of more than 95%3 of aggravating particles from your residence’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is great for families who want better protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter removes 99% of larger particles such as dust, pollen and lint. And up to 54% of smaller particles down to 0.3 microns.4
The Healthy Climate 11 Media Air Cleaner is a an excellent air purifier for allergies and in houses with pets. It removes more than 87% of bigger particles down to 3 microns and more than 28% of miniscule ones down to 0.3 microns.4 It’s able to offer this powerful filtration without driving up the price of operating your HVAC system.
These three media air cleaners work with any brand of HVAC system. But despite that, it’s essential to be aware that some of the denser ones, including MERV 16 and 13, may limit your system’s airflow. This can inflate your utility bills.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are to the fault of you get a stinging sunburn. But this kind of light has a beneficial application when installed inside your ductwork. It’s also powerful enough to decrease germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In reality, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can lower the amount of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as short as 45 minutes.5 This light wrecks cell structure, which prohibits these microorganisms from multiplying and infiltrating throughout your house.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your HVAC system clean and working efficiently. It eliminates of germs, mold and fungi hiding inside ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier does all these tasks without creating lung-aggravating ozone.6
Breathe Better with the Assistance of Our Air Purification Specialists
Your family’s comfort and health matters to us at Patterson & Stirling Inc. We know there are a lot of options out there. That’s why we make it simple to work with our indoor air quality specialists. We specialize in creating solutions that meet your needs and budget, and we’d love to hear more about your house and your air quality challenges. Reach us at 814-308-0416 now to get started.
1Based on laboratory and field studies.
2PureAir™ S requires the iComfort® S30 and a communicating indoor unit.
3Leading consumer magazine, January 2012. Based on the published CADR, which is the standardized measurement system to determine the cubic feet of clean air produced per minute. Particles captured range in size down to 0.3 micron. One micron = 1/25,000 of an inch in diameter.
4Based on lab tests conducted on filters with conditions included in ASHRAE standard 52.2 for E1 and E3 size ranges.
5Based on constant circulation of air in the home, 3,000-square-foot home with a 5-ton air handler.
6U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Ozone Generators that are Sold as Air Cleaners: An Assessment of Effective and Health Consequences," August 2006.